Results 24,021-24,040 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Properties (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government established a Housing Delivery Office to focus on land and site supply aspects of “Rebuilding Ireland”. As part of that exercise my Department was asked to identify lands which could potentially be used for housing. The site to which the Deputy refers in Ashbourne, was identified as having the potential for housing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, I announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years (2019 to 2022). This announcement follows nationwide demographic exercises carried out by my Department into the future need for primary and post-primary schools across the country and the 4-year horizon will enable increased lead-in times for planning and delivery of the necessary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Eligibility (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: We have, for the first time, introduced an objective, statistics based model for deciding which schools merit inclusion in the DEIS Programme, so that all stakeholders can have confidence that we are targeting extra resources at those schools with the highest concentrated levels of disadvantage. The key data sources used in the DEIS identification process are the DES Primary Online Database...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: My Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools, which have enrolled students with special educational needs, including those with Autism in order to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, s/he will have access to an appropriate education. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: Following a meeting with survivors, I expressed a willingness to have a series of consultation meetings around the country, led by and for survivors of institutional abuse. The detail of how this can happen is being worked out and Department officials are in contact with survivors.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are provided to assist recognised schools to cater for pupils with disabilities, who have additional and significant care needs, in an educational context and where the nature of these care needs have been outlined in medical and other professional reports as being so significant that a pupil will require additional adult assistance in order to be able to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Action Plan on Bullying (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Action Plan on Bullying, which was published in January 2013, sets out my Department's approach to tackling bullying and promoting an anti-bullying culture in schools. It recommended 12 actions that focus on support for schools, teacher training, research and awareness raising and aim to ensure that all forms of bullying are addressed. A number of these actions have been implemented in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I have received a briefing from my Department on the situation in Scoil Cholmcille. I gather that the school has a current staffing complement of one principal, 11 mainstream teaching posts, nine special education teaching posts and one shared home-school liaison post. The staffing level will remain unchanged for the next school year. Last...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Department is assessing what has been proposed and will be in communication with the school. In terms of new school identification, that is somewhat different. I mean the Department is then undertaking demographic exercises and considering whether there is an emerging demand that will exceed the capacity of the existing schools and, in that context, should it consider sanctioning a new...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (15 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: Clearly, if the population increases and the numbers attending this school increase and so forth, as more schools are allocated the Department will have to consider additional accommodation on that ground. However, on the basis of the current stable numbers in the application, the Department is probably looking at this against the background that it will have to deliver perhaps 18,000 extra...

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: I take this opportunity to express again my personal shock and sympathy to the people who have been so appalling affected. The non-disclosure was a major failure of public policy, given disclosure has been HSE policy since 2013. It is categorically clear, however, that this never came to the attention of any Minister. When it did come to the attention of Government, very swift action was...

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The documentation shows categorically that neither the Taoiseach nor the current Minister for Health had any knowledge of the non-disclosure and, as such, it cannot be linked to any decisions that were made by Ministers or the Oireachtas in terms of how they should deal with this. It is very clear that there can be no link because no information was made available to the Ministers concerned.

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Minister will make available any documentation that is required by committees. That is always the case. What the committees should do is entirely a matter for them, and I fully acknowledge their independence. I have been around this House for a long time and I fully recognise the rights of committees to do their business. I must also be conscious, however, that the Dáil is...

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: I believe it is very clear, and everyone in the House accepts, that there have been failures in this situation. It raises issues about the longer-term accountability of the HSE. The Minister has signalled that he will introduce legislative change to change the oversight mechanisms for the HSE. The House will have ample opportunity to discuss how best we do this. The Minister continues to...

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: I assure people that no concerns have been raised about the operation or value of the cervical screening process. It identified 50,000 cases in which there needed to be detailed information and saved 1,000 lives as a result of that work. The quality and worth of the clinical smear testing regime have not been thrown into question. Rather, what has been revealed is a problem with...

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which the Department and Minister have developed a plan to address. I checked the figures this morning. Just over 11,000 people are on the inpatient waiting list for cataract or ophthalmological surgery, with 75% of those seen within nine months. The Minister's plan is to eliminate waiting times of over nine months. To do that, he will use the...

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: -----and that no one will be waiting for longer than nine months by the end of the year.

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is confusing-----

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: To clarify the question on procedures for Deputy Howlin, that is, where a person has been seen and a procedure identified as being necessary, the target is for there to be no cases waiting for over nine months by the end of the year. At the moment, a little over 2,000 cases have been waiting for longer than nine months. The NTPF will make provision for 5,000 operations, which is more than...

Leaders' Questions (16 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: -----are confident that, between the existing flow of work and the additional procedures that will be contracted privately, the target will be met. I will ask the Minister to provide the Deputy with the additional detail he requires in terms of locations and service providers.